Lore:First Age
The Age of Dawning is one of near complete mystery, as it is the time before the mortal races of Relia began keeping history, and in fact is the time before any of these races even existed. As such, it is an age with no distinct timeline, though there are several beliefs related to this era which the mortal races have come to see as the history of their world. As is often the case, many of these beliefs are merely conjecture or myths passed down through the generations, and it is unknown which, if any, are the true recounting of these events. The Birth of Relia All mortal beings have their own beliefs when it comes to the origin of the world and the life upon it, but one thing remains the same among all - they believe Relia was created by the gods. These beings of supreme knowledge and power, for unknown reasons, saw to the creation of the universe in which Relia lies, and shaped the ages to come. What the races do not agree on, however, is which god or gods enacted the beginning of life. Common Beliefs The ancient Eldari, first of the elves, believed Relia to be the creation of the Godtree, Venor, who teaches them that the greatest beauty that can be experienced is that of natural life itself. Seeking to manifest this beauty, Venor created Relia and sowed the seeds of the first life upon it. The Koldari hold to this belief even now, though the other elves have strayed from it, adopting a wider pantheon of elvish gods and goddesses and believing that all of them, known as the Falinmir, roughly "siblings" in Eldari, had a hand in creating the world and the life upon it. The barbarians of Norhel believe Relia was created by the allfather, Valdr, as a battleground to train warriors for his celestial army that is prophesied to someday wage war against the demons of the Hellrealm, who seek to overtake Valdyr's heavenly realm of Valorheim. The most common belief among humans is that of the Celestial Divinities, a pantheon of twelve gods and goddesses from which all things are created and by which fate's wheel is turned. Many believe that their fates are predetermined by these gods, and either praise or curse individuals of the pantheon for whatever luck befalls them in life. They seem to share some beliefs with the northern barbarians, as Valdr (whom they write as Valdyr) is among their pantheon, and they believe in the existence of the demonic Hellrealm just as the barbarians do. Many scholars believe this could be attributed to the possibility that modern humans are descended from earlier barbarian tribes, though any history on the subject that could prove this has been lost. In the current age, these beliefs and more are common across all races, with just as many choosing to believe that the beginning of life is simply unknowable and choose not to trouble themselves with religion at all. The advancement of extraplanar travel has caused many rifts among the faithful, as places such as the Hellrealm have now been nearly proven to exist. Some choose to see this as an affirmation of their beliefs, while still others choose to believe that this means the gods are not divine at all, but merely incredibly powerful mortal beings of other planes of existence. The Dragonstones The first and only true evidence of life before the mortal races exists in the form of the dragonstones, uncovered first by the Eldari in the Second Age. These stones depict and recount the history of an ancient race of beings that have become known as dragons, who seemed to have the capability to shape the land around them. The reaction to this discovery was divided among the Eldari, with some deciding that the established beliefs of the followers of Venor were entirely inaccurate and that life must have existed long before the appearance of the Eldari themselves. The faithful chose to believe that if these dragons did exist they were agents of the enemy who would come to be known as Ifganel, the Lord of Flame and the Destroyer, an enemy of Venor who sought to undo the beauty of Relia. These followers came to believe that Venor had created them in order to restore Relia to its pristine state, undoing the damage wrought by the Destroyer. Though thousands of years would pass before anything transpired, this divide was the first of many rifts that would eventually separate the elven people. In the current age, the existence of both dragon and titan-kind is taken as fact, as more than enough evidence has been found. Followers of Venor still hold to their ancient myth of the Lord of Flame, while most others believe that the dragons and titans were the first creations of the gods and that they were unsatisfied with them, thus they did away with their early experiment and created the mortal races instead. The apparent extinction of both dragon and titan in the current age lends credibility to this belief for those that follow it. Timeline A rough timeline has been constructed by scholars of the Qeldari, though it is either widely accepted or disregarded depending on culture and beliefs. This timeline was created after extensive research of the dragonstones, as well as from documented visits to other planes of existence. *Infinity: The Astral Pathway exists between realms of existence. *Pre-time: The mortal plane came into existence. Origin unknown. *1A-4.5 BYA: A god or group of gods created Relia and her moons, as well as other celestial bodies within the material universe. *1A-2.6 BYA (true value unknown, based on oldest known dragon relics by mortal reckoning): The gods created the dragons and titans, granting them each the power of Earthshaping and each their own domain. The dragons claimed the sky and the land above, while the titans claimed the sea and the land below. *1A-205 MYA: Dragons and titans clash in the Earthshaper War, resulting in the assumed extinction of both. Relia's single landmass is broken up into several pieces and the world is plunged into a frigid ice age. *1A-2 MYA: Oldest evidence of mortal life surfacing on Relia, believed to be the early ancestors of the Eldari - the Niru. *1A 0: The Eldari begin keeping their history, thus ushering in the Second Age.